Immunohistochemical (IHC) assays were developed and tested for the detection of 3 viral infections in archived paraffin-embedded mink tissue. Specimens had been obtained from mink with diagnoses of acute Aleutian disease (AD), mink parvoviral enteritis (MVE), or canine distemper (CD) made by means of routine diagnostic procedures. To improve the efficiency and reduce the costs of IHC analyses, tissue microarray (TMA) technology was used. Representative cores 2 mm in diameter from each tissue specimen and from positive- and negative-control specimens were collected in a TMA block. Immunohistochemical reactions to viral antigens were assessed and graded. Positive reactions were found in 91% of the 32 specimens from mink with AD, 53% to 80% of the 60 specimens from mink with MVE, and all 66 of the specimens from mink with CD. To validate the use of TMAs, the IHC methods were applied to whole-mount paraffin-embedded sections of 10 of the positive specimens for each disease, together with whole-mount sections of small intestine and lung tissue from 2 healthy mink. The IHC grading of the TMA cores and the whole-mount sections from the same animal corresponded completely. These results suggest that IHC demonstration of viral antigen allows rapid and reliable diagnosis of the 3 viral infections in mink and is a potential supplement to histologic diagnostic procedures. The TMA technique proved useful for screening large numbers of samples for expression of specific viral antigens, while reducing overall costs.

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